BUILDING AB
STRENGTH FOR EVERY
FEMALE CLIENT
By assessing core control and prescribing exercise accordingly, we can minimise injury and maximise
performance for every female client, from postnatal to postmenopausal, says Dianne Edmonds.
omen returning to fitness post-pregnancy and childbirth,
whether that be at six weeks, six months or six years, can
present to you with physical changes that need specific
attention when programming. These can include a lengthened
abdominal wall, an excessive abdominal muscle diastasis (gap
between the two sides of the rectus abdominis) and/or a potentially
compromised pelvic floor.
Personal trainers need to consider these issues when prescribing
abdominal exercises for female clients, and to assess the level of
core control and match it with appropriate levels of exercise. This
will assist in minimising injury and maximising performance for
clients who are in the postnatal year, and who have previously
had children, as well as those who are postmenopausal.
Planks and mountain climbers are commonly prescribed for core
training, but for some clients these are unsuitable due to their lower
level of core control, or an underlying area of weakness in their pelvic
floor or abdominal wall. Establishing a client’s baseline first will help
you to protect their pelvic floor and abdominal wall and retrain their
core, rebuilding from the inside out – and setting the foundations for
performing a safe and strong plank.
W
Assessing a client’s core
When assessing a client’s core, you should consider the following
changes.
Lengthened abdominal wall
In instances where the abdominal wall is unrehabilitated from
previous pregnancies, it may function better when recruitment is
started from a lengthened position, such as in 4 point kneeling, rather
than in shortened position such as supine. Check and progress each
client from the optimal starting positions for them.
Balance between the layers of the abdominal wall muscles
Clients who have done extensive training involving the upper
rectus abdominus and external obliques will often have preferential
recruitment of these muscles when activating the core. Checking
the client’s depth of control of the deeper layer, using the pelvic
floor to activate with transversus abdominus and internal oblique
activity prior to strong engagement of the outer muscles, can assist
in restoring the balance between the layers of the abdominal wall.
Look for an ‘in-drawing’ of the lower abdominal region, with relative
relaxation of the upper abdominals under the rib cage.
Abdominal muscle separation
While a proportion of abdominal muscle diastasis cases resolve
spontaneously, some women will have an unresolved diastasis ‘gap’
of over 2cm and will need specific attention placed on avoiding
strain on the linea alba and, ideally, reducing the size of the gap.
Start by assessing for a diastasis in supine: if one is present then
it is important to check for closure and avoidance of any bulging or
widening with exercise.
Pelvic floor
Based on the fact that 1 in 3 women who have ever had a baby will
have a problem with urinary incontinence, and 1 in 2 women may
have a pelvic organ prolapse, it is likely that some of your female
clients will experience these problems. Some women are more at
risk, particularly if they have had multiple births, a tear that extends
NETWORK SUMMER 2017 | 63